Aether and Samarra: A Step in the Right Direction
Aether walked through Onibus Town. He attracted many stares, not because of his fame, but because he had a large blizzardvern walking behind him. Winters shrieked, making Aether walk faster. "I know, I know." He had stopped by Onibus to pick up supplies for his guild. It just so happened that Onibus was also the home of the Koma Inu guild. The master of which was Samarra Inari. Aether walked up to the door of the guild hall and knocked on the door, uncomfortably shifting on his feet. He sent back Winters. He didn't want there to be any witnesses in case he embarrassed himself. The door opened rather quickly to reveal the aforementioned master. Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she smiled and greeted Aether, opening the door wider to invite him in. "I got word from one of my guild members that they spotted a giant blizzardvern following a man in town; I was hoping it was you!" She says with a slight laugh and gives Aether a hug."What has you coming to Onibus?" Aether blushed from the embrace. "I was in town getting supplies for my guild, but I thought, hey, you're in town, so why not visit." Aether sounded incredibly embarrassed. "I was hoping we could spend some time together, and get to know each other better before I have to go back home." "Oh, well that would be really nice." Samarra says, slowly brushing the hair behind her ears and she glaces away to hide her blush. "Well what would you like to do? I have finished most of my tasks for today so I would love to get out of here for a bit!" "I guess we could go out to dinner," said Aether, shifting his weight on his feet. "My treat. You can pick the place though, I don't know much about the food around here." Out to dinner! This really sounds like it could be a date! But lord knows that the past few attempts somehow have gotten interrupted right when I am about to see if he likes me...so I guess I better not get my hopes up for this one...Play it cool Samarra, play it cool. She humorously thinks to herself. She quickly turns to tell one of her mages to inform the resident S Class Mage to watch the guild while she was out, and then promptly returns to Aether's side. "Sorry about that; dinner sounds lovely! I know of a wonderful sushi place nearby, if that's okay with you? It's just a brief walk." Her smile seems to outshine that of the sun as she looks forward to another chance to spend some time with the Dragon Gunfire master. "Sure," said Aether. He held out his arm, beckoning for her to take it, and they would be on their way. "Show me the way." Lacing her arm in his, Samarra opens the door and leads the pair down the road. Admiring the sky as it begins to be painted in shades of orange and red as the sun sets. Not sure what to say to break the silence as the pair walks, Samarra settles on silence as she leans in closer to Aether so that their shoulders touch as they walk. The neon "Open" sign of the restaurant comes into view, offering the pair a safe haven from the ever cooling air of the evening. Aether walked up to the entrance, and opened the door. "Ladies first." He said, signaling for her to cross the threshold. Samarra smiles and gracefully walks through the door where she is promptly met with a hostess, who quickly seats them. Samarra only glances at the menu, having already known what she was going to order from her frequent visits here. She briefly enjoyed to low lighting and soft oriental music playing before directing her attention to the man in front of her. "So Aether, tell me about yourself?" She said in a joking like tone, playing on the fact that this was very much like a first date; although she couldn't seem to hide the blush across her cheeks from the thought. Aether quickly looked through the menu. He leaned back in his chair. "Where to begin? I was born a member of Dragon Gunfire, I took control over the guild after my grandfather died. I was twelve at the time, but I must say, I was one of the guild's most influential leaders, even back then. For 300 years the guild remained firm in its belief that Dragon Slayers were superior to all other humans, and that only men had the right to be called true Dragon Slayers. If it wasn't thanks to that rule, my mother would be guild master instead of me." With a half smile, Samarra stares down the black haired mage. "I can ask any one of your mages about the history of your guild, silly. I want to know something personal about you. Like what is your favorite food? What do you do to relax? What do you see when you look at the stars? Or what do you aspire to be personally? Not what your hopes are for you guild, or anything to do with that. I want to know who Aether Cade really is behind the title of guild master of Dragon Gunfire." Her eyes seem to light up with excitement. It was these types of things that Samarra enjoyed most. Group settings were fun and all, but getting to learn who someone was in their soul in a one-on-one conversation is what gave Samarra the passion and encouragement to always strive to make new friends. "Well then," said Aether taking in a deep breath. "Favorite food, meat; favorite hobby, gardening; what I see in the stars, food; and what I aspire to be, a leader everyone can look up. Sometimes people think I have a lot of class for Dragon Slayer, but in all honesty, I'm just as voracious an eater as any other Dragon Slayers." "Ok there Mr. Speed Demon! There isn't a time limit on these questions." Samarra laughs out, taken aback by the blunt and quick answers of Aether. Maybe I went to far by asking such personal questions...He seems to be rushing through them like he wants to escape this conversation...Maybe I should just stay quiet... She thinks to herself as her smile slowly falls. "Sorry if I went to far. I guess we should focus on the food. That seems to be your favorite thing, right?" She says with a force half-smile as she puts in her order to the waitress that walked over. "No, it's fine," said Aether. "I'm just not use to people asking me personal questions. Not even my guild mates really ask much about my own personal life. I guess I'll elaborate more on my hobby. Whenever I get time away from my guild, I go to a small island I created. My mother taught me Green and Earth Magic when I was a boy, and I greatly enjoyed the serenity of the garden in comparison to the harshness of my grandfather's training. When I took over as guild master, and the civil war in our guild finally ended, I had enough free time to finally go make my own private island. I've amassed quite a collection of rare and beautiful plants if I do say so myself." Aether opened his palm and a pink rose erupted from it. "Oh really? That is beautiful. And it must be so nice to have your own little world to escape to." Samarra says, admiring the beauty of the rose that grew in front of her. "You know I have always love flowers. It is amazing how, through all the mud and dirt of this earth, a flower is able to push through and turn into something beautiful. How it doesn't care to compete with the flower next to it, it only strives to bloom and capture the sun's warm embrace. Sometimes I wish people could be like that..." Samarra said as she dazed off in her thoughts. Shaking her head back into reality, she apologizes and laughs, "Sorry, I get carried away sometimes when I talk. I get that from my dad I think." She sheepishly smiles and plays with the straw in her water glass. "It's alright," said Aether as he extends his hand and the flower across the table towards Samarra. "You can keep this flower if you'd like. I have hundreds like this back on my island." Taking the flower from his hand, she gently places it under her nose and inhales the sweet scent. "Thank you very much Aether; it's beautiful." Samarra says, the color of the rose matching that of her cheeks. "So, why don't you tell me something about you," said Aether. "Well what would you like to know? I am an open book!" Samarra says with a giggle. "Anything really," Aether thought for a second. "What's it like being a part of the Inari Family?" "Hmm I don't think anyone has every really asked me that before..." She says with a pondering expression as she looks up into space. "Well my family is pretty amazing in my eyes. Yes we have lots of mages and diplomats within our home, but we are more than our professions, ya know? My family is amazingly kind, and we always look out for each other. Everyone focuses on training their body, as well as their mind, so that if a family member is ever in trouble we are there to help them." Samarra smiles at the thoughts of her family. "My dad is pretty amazing too. I know you only got to meet him for a little while during the war, but he is the head of our family and the lead diplomat within the king's ranks. He has gracefully lead our family and ensured that all members are happy.He looks out for everyone and shows them nothing but kindness. He is wise beyond his years and one of the most skillful and inspiring speakers I know. I really hope I can be as great as him one day... but overall I love my family and wouldn't change a thing." She says with a beaming smile towards Aether. "I should meet you father some day," said Aether, "for real. Not just a war meeting." Aether became lost in thought. "It must be nice having such a large family. So many people you can depend on. The only family I've ever known was my mother and sister." "Oh I am sure he would love to meet you! My whole family probably would actually, they always ask me about you anyways. My brother's Hiro and Shin might get a little protective though, but I am sure you could handle them." Samarra laughs out. "And I didn't know you had a sister? What is she like?" "She was wonderful," said Aether. " Kind, powerful, yet so insecure. She left the guild a few years ago, and I haven't heard from her since. I've spent some time looking for her, but I never seem to be able to find her. Looking for Esme is another hobby of mine I guess. We may not be bonded by blood, but I loved her all the same." "Oh, well I am sorry to hear that you haven't seen her in some time... I'm sure fate will have a way of reuniting you to again eventually!" Samarra says with a wide smile as she looks over the plate that the waiters were bringing over. With a large serving of sushi, Samarra began quickly eating her favorite meal, realizing that this was the first time she had eaten all day. "''My favorite food with one of my favorite people; today has just been wonderful!" She giggles out. Aether was taken aback by that comment, but then smile brightly as he began to eat. "So how's work been?" Samarra blushes slightly, finally realizing what she just said. "Err, sorry. I guess I get a little to excited when I eat. I guess that kind of makes me like a dragon slayer right?" She laughs out, thinking back to Aether's prior comment about dragon slayers being voracious eaters. "Well work has been going well I suppose. Just with I think my guild has reached its limit, we get more people knocking on our doors wanting to join! So that has really filled me with joy. How about you?" "We're still rather small at Dragon Gunfire," said Aether. "We still haven't fully recovered from the civil war, but on the bright side, everyone has more space in the guild hall. So you know, silver linings. Work's also been very slow recently. I had to fill out a ton of paperwork because it turns out the guild hall was built illegally." Aether stared off into space for a second, remembering the brightly colored sign at the entrance to the restaurant. "When we finish eating, I'd like to show something." "I like your optimism." Samarra smiles brightly."Well if you ever need any help with paperwork, let me know. Luckily I have Layla to help me with about half of the documents I have to manage, since she was part of the Magic Council for quite some time, so I have learned a lot from her on what I can bypass and what the important stuff is." Samarra says mindlessly as she finishes up the last of her sushi roll and sips on her miso soup. "What is it you'd like to show me?" She says curiously. "Follow me," said Aether, getting up from the table and leaving an ample amount of money on the table to pay for their meal. He led her outside and to a wide open area. "Plasma is an incredible versatile element. It has no definite volume, yet is so incredibly heated, and even more fluidic than normal gases." Aether waved his hand high in the sky, creating a shimmering effect with beautiful blue lights. "More than 99% of the matter in the universe is plasma, so technically I can eat more than any Dragon Slayer. One of the most useful things that we people use for however, is lighting." Aether shot several blasts of plasma into the air. They exploded in the sky, one after the other, creating a display similar to the most transient fireworks. Samarra looks up in the sky in amazement. Her eyes sparkled as the fireworks reflect in her eyes. "Wow it is so beautiful! That's so wonderful..." She said staring up into the sky as she leans closer to Aether. ''Who knew that Aether could think of something so romantic...maybe he does actually like me... Aether could no longer contain himself. Almost on instinct he turned towards Samarra. He pulled her in, and kissed her. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." He said, clearly embarrassed. "Usually I'm more composed." Samarra's face turns a bright red. "Uhh it's okay. Just caught me off guard to be honest..." She said bashfully as she brushes her hair behind her ears. "I guess you know how I feel about you now," said Aether bashfully. As embarrassed as he was, he wanted to kiss her again. "Oh yeah? And how is that?" Samarra laughs out poking him lightly in the stomach. She leans in to give Aether another kiss on the lips. She then quickly walks away, putting a few feet between the two, and turns around with a giggle, jokingly saying, "I have no idea what you mean!" Aether smiled, knowing that she was teasing him. "I guess I should walk you home now." Letting the dark haired mage catch up to her, Samarra smiled as they walked side by side. "Well I appreciate you taking me out to dinner, it was lovely. The fireworks were wonderful." Aether took her hand into his, and walked her back to the Koma Inu guild. "I hope I get to see you again soon." After a brief walk hand in hand, the two stop in front of the guild hall. Samarra turns to face Aether and smiles brightly. "Don't worry you will. Maybe next time I'm in Crocus visiting my family I'll have you come along?" Gesturing towards the door, "Well this is my stop. Again thank you for a wonderful evening, I really had a good time with you..." She leans in and places a chaste kiss on his lips. A playful, yet seductive, smile works its way onto her lips as she bids her parting words. "Ya know, you got to show off some of your magic today, I think it's only fair that I show off a bit of mine..." She then closes what little space is left between them as she slowly leans in closer towards Aether. Her hands are placed on his chest and slowly work their way up to tangle her fingers into his hair as she lessens the space between their lips. Seeming to share one breath now, their bodies are flushed against one another as there is only a few centimeters of space left between their lips... Right before they touch, Samarra leans back and instead places her finger gently on Aether's lips, sending a small shock of electricity throughout his body. She then opens up the door behind her and blows a kiss goodbye as she giggles, "Goodnight Aether."